| 1 | 1 | | 84R2525 MEW-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Watson S.B. No. 297 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to health education curriculum and instruction in public |
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| 8 | 8 | | schools. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. The legislature finds that: |
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| 11 | 11 | | (1) Texas led the nation in 2010 in the rate of teenage |
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| 12 | 12 | | mothers who had second children, according to the Centers for |
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| 13 | 13 | | Disease Control and Prevention; |
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| 14 | 14 | | (2) approximately 22 percent of births in Texas by |
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| 15 | 15 | | girls age 15 to 19 were repeat births in 2010, compared to 18.3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | percent in the United States; |
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| 17 | 17 | | (3) an estimated 82 percent of teen births are |
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| 18 | 18 | | unintended and cost American taxpayers approximately $9.4 billion a |
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| 19 | 19 | | year and cost Texas taxpayers $1.1 billion in 2010, according to the |
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| 20 | 20 | | National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy; |
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| 21 | 21 | | (4) the only certain way to avoid the termination of an |
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| 22 | 22 | | unwanted pregnancy is to prevent the unwanted pregnancy; |
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| 23 | 23 | | (5) the state has a compelling state interest in |
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| 24 | 24 | | ensuring that there is appropriate knowledge of how a pregnancy |
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| 25 | 25 | | occurs and how a pregnancy can be avoided; and |
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| 26 | 26 | | (6) according to the Centers for Disease Control and |
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| 27 | 27 | | Prevention, effective strategies to prevent teen pregnancy include |
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| 28 | 28 | | evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs that address |
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| 29 | 29 | | specific protective factors based on knowledge, skills, beliefs, or |
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| 30 | 30 | | attitudes related to teen pregnancy, including knowledge of sexual |
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| 31 | 31 | | issues, sexually transmitted diseases, infection with human |
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| 32 | 32 | | immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, |
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| 33 | 33 | | pregnancy, and methods of pregnancy prevention. |
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| 34 | 34 | | SECTION 2. Section 28.004, Education Code, is amended by |
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| 35 | 35 | | amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (o) to read as |
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| 36 | 36 | | follows: |
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| 37 | 37 | | (e) Any course materials and instruction relating to human |
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| 38 | 38 | | sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, or human |
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| 39 | 39 | | immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome |
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| 40 | 40 | | shall be selected by the board of trustees with the advice of the |
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| 41 | 41 | | local school health advisory council and must: |
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| 42 | 42 | | (1) be evidence-based; |
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| 43 | 43 | | (2) present abstinence from sexual activity as the |
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| 44 | 44 | | preferred choice of behavior in relationship to all sexual activity |
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| 45 | 45 | | for unmarried persons of school age; |
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| 46 | 46 | | (3) [(2)] devote more attention to abstinence from |
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| 47 | 47 | | sexual activity than to any other behavior; |
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| 48 | 48 | | (4) [(3)] emphasize that abstinence from sexual |
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| 49 | 49 | | activity, if used consistently and correctly, is the only method |
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| 50 | 50 | | that is 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy, sexually |
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| 51 | 51 | | transmitted diseases, infection with human immunodeficiency virus, |
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| 52 | 52 | | [or] acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and the emotional trauma |
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| 53 | 53 | | associated with adolescent sexual activity; |
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| 54 | 54 | | (5) [(4)] direct adolescents to a standard of behavior |
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| 55 | 55 | | in which abstinence from sexual activity before marriage is the |
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| 56 | 56 | | most effective way to prevent pregnancy, sexually transmitted |
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| 57 | 57 | | diseases, [and] infection with human immunodeficiency virus, and |
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| 58 | 58 | | [or] acquired immune deficiency syndrome; and |
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| 59 | 59 | | (6) [(5)] teach contraception and condom use in terms |
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| 60 | 60 | | of human use reality rates instead of theoretical laboratory rates, |
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| 61 | 61 | | if instruction on contraception and condoms is included in |
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| 62 | 62 | | curriculum content. |
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| 63 | 63 | | (o) In this section, "evidence-based" means information |
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| 64 | 64 | | verified or supported by research that is: |
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| 65 | 65 | | (1) conducted in compliance with accepted scientific |
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| 66 | 66 | | methods; |
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| 67 | 67 | | (2) published in peer-reviewed journals, if |
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| 68 | 68 | | appropriate; |
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| 69 | 69 | | (3) recognized as medically accurate, objective, and |
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| 70 | 70 | | complete by mainstream professional organizations and agencies |
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| 71 | 71 | | with expertise in the relevant field, including the federal Centers |
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| 72 | 72 | | for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Department |
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| 73 | 73 | | of Health and Human Services; and |
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| 74 | 74 | | (4) proven through rigorous scientific evaluation to |
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| 75 | 75 | | achieve positive outcomes on measures of sexual risk behavior or |
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| 76 | 76 | | its health consequences. |
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| 77 | 77 | | SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016 |
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| 78 | 78 | | school year. |
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| 79 | 79 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 80 | 80 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 81 | 81 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 82 | 82 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 83 | 83 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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